Four men who admitted to their involvement in circulating pornographic images of a 16-year-old girl, had their punishments increased on appeal.

In four separate judgement, handed down by the Magistrates' Court last year, Lee Martin, 28, was fined Lm300 after he admitted to his involvement in filming and circulating the footage in the form of a DVD and relapsing.

Jurgen Debattista, 18, was conditionally discharged for three years while Emanuel Theuma, 49, and Derek Lee D'Amato, 26, were each fined Lm200 for their involvement in the making and/or circulation of the material.

The Attorney General appealed the judgements arguing that the men deserved a jail term given the serious nature of the crime.

But the defence lawyers pointed out that their clients had only registered a guilty plea after an agreement regarding punishment was reached with the prosecution in the Magistrates' Court. They argued that, if the punishment they agreed to during the bargaining was altered, they would want to withdraw the guilty plea.

Mr Justice David Scicluna, in the Court of Criminal Appeal, noted that there were no records of plea bargaining in the records of the case. Any plea bargaining between the parties had not been made according to the guidelines outlined by law and were therefore not valid.

Since the defence was arguing that the guilty plea was made in the light of the plea bargaining, and the plea bargaining was not legally acceptable, then their request to withdraw the plea was frivolous.

The judge then moved on to alter the judgements handed down by the Magistrates' Court.

Mr Debattista, Mr D'Amato and Mr Martin had their punishment changed to a Lm400 fine while Mr Theuma was fined Lm300.

Police Inspector Louise Calleja prosecuted.

Lawyers José Herrera and Franco Debono appeared for the men.